Amendment making it harder to change the Florida constitution expected to clear state supreme court

Supporters of a ballot initiative that would make it harder to amend the Florida Constitution urged the state Supreme Court on Monday to sign off on the proposal.

The political committee Keep Our Constitution Clean is proposing an initiative that would require voters to approve constitutional amendments twice – rather than the once – for the amendments to take effect. To put the issue on the November 2020 ballot, Keep Our Constitution Clean needs Supreme Court approval of the proposed ballot wording.

In a 19-page brief filed Monday, lawyers for the committee argued that the initiative meets legal tests, such as including only a single subject and not being misleading.

The initiative that would require voters to approve constitutional amendments twice – rather than the once.

“The amendment (initiative), in simple and direct language, revises existing provisions of … the Florida Constitution, to require that any subsequent amendments to the Florida Constitution must be passed by the current election thresholds twice in separate elections before being approved – and nothing more,” the brief said.

Along with needing a sign-off from the Supreme Court, the committee needs to submit 766,200 valid petition signatures to the state by a Feb. 1 deadline. As of mid-day Monday, the state Division of Elections had tallied 501,011 signatures.

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This article appears in The 12 Pups of Christmas.